It looks like the next step of restoring the Natomas levees will be delayed for about nine months. But the top local flood control official says the overall timeline is still on track.

The original plan was to start this second phase of the levee renovations at the end of this summer -- and start the final phase next year. That schedule is getting pushed back because the federal government hasn’t given the go-ahead.

But officials believe they can still meet their overall goal: get halfway through the entire project by the end of 2009. Stein Buer is with the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

Buer: “There is no guarantee that something else would not come up that would make it difficult or impossible to accomplish. But that is our very aggressive timeline at this point.”

Last year, the federal government said the area’s flood risk was far too high – and slapped Natomas with the toughest building restrictions possible. Sacramento city officials are hoping things stay on track – so some restrictions could be lifted late next year.